last year a bumble bee . . .

this year, a crocodile. Neighbor Toby came over to show me his Halloween costume. He was, unfortunately, much more interested in whatever was on the other side of the garden so he wouldn't look at the photographer. But please note the costume's tail.

We were glued to the telly watching the Giant's outdo the Tigers and I'll tune in to watch a bit of the victory parade tomorrow.  But right now we're completely immersed (no pun intended) in l'affaire Sandy.  I've been in touch with family and friends on the east coast who could be in harm's way but all have reported they are fine.  Our sailing crowd all live in Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and New York.  Patty and Jon live on the Chesapeake and took to higher ground for a night.  Betty and Bob live on the 21st floor of a condo on the banks of the Potomac and they were worried that enough wind might blow out their windows.  Mary and Oliver live near Boston and only got some rain.  Janet's in upstate NY and is probably getting hit right now.  Heard from Kaley; she, Rob, Ruby and Grampa Tom in Guilford, CT, decided to hunker down in the basement and wait it out.  Liz in Baltimore is wet but safe.  I'm sick of hearing how this mess will/won't/might affect the election.  I agree with the President:  the people in the storm areas are the ones we need to think about.  The election will take care of itself.

say cheese!

I've been looking for a new camera for two years.  The most important feature for me is a View Finder.  Most of the photos I take are in glaring light.  It's always glaring at the beach.  So I needed a camera that had a feature where I could "peek" at what I was taking and not have to use a screen that I usually couldn't see.  I trolled the internet, checked out camera articles by those who seemed to know what they were talking about, scanned ads in various magazines, consulted with g'son Andrew who has some glorious big, expensive rig, and finally settled on a Panasonic Lumix FZ47 Full HD.  I have no idea what all those strange numbers and letters mean but this is the camera of my (albeit modest) dreams.  It arrived today and I am slowly working my way through the manual.  I am guessing the author's first language is not English and he/she has a PhD in Camera from MIT or Cal Tech.  There's a lot of verbiage about what such and such a button or setting will do but not a word on how to find it or set it or use it. This is my first photo with my new toy.

What, you might ask, is that?  It's a tree face that decorates a big shade tree in front of a house in the next block.  It's permanently there, not just for the spooky holiday coming next week.

Here's the next one I took:  a red sage bloom on the shrub in the back garden.

 I am going to have a fine time with this new camera, if I can figure out how to use all its bells and whistles.  I am on page 50 of the User's Manual.   I will press on, however, until I have mastered it.  For now, it's just great fun to experiment.

Go Giants!

good, better, best

I watched this very good movie yesterday. Two tissues.

The President was much better on Tuesday night. I agree with Jeff Greenfield that if Obama had done as well at the first debate the election would be over by now. Alas, we must soldier on for another 3 weeks. Vote early and often.

Saving the best for last. Daughter Cait flew over from Bozeman for a short visit. She got in late last night; caught the last flight to SMF from SLC. Haven't really seen her yet but I know she's over there in the guest room. Unless I dreamed the whole thing. We have a couple of days to get caught up.

Weather warm here again.

news from the dog house

I am still in deep recovery after the President's no-show performance in the first "debate" which wasn't any kind of a debate I've ever seen. Joe lifted my spirits somewhat but not enough to propel me to the keyboard. But this photo of G'dog Zeke is worth a post!

the weather map

Here in the valley we have had unseasonably hot weather; it was 100º on Tuesday, 95º yesterday, and will be 89º today. It's still pool weather and here we are at the end of the first week in October.

Meanwhile, in Bozeman, take a look at Cait and Mike's front deck.

They got their first snow of the season on Tuesday night.

Reports from Walla Walla are that it's cooling down; currently 48º, down from 80-something last week.  Time to pull out the sweaters and long pants.

For us, it's still shorts weather, although it is reportedly going to drop into the low 80º's over the weekend.  It will actually be a relief to have a bit of cooler weather.  

how's this for a turnout?

This is a shot in Caracas, Venezuela of a political rally for Henrique Capriles, running for president against Hugo Chavez. Estimated to be 2 million people. Not one single "incident" was reported. Election is this coming Sunday.