Crow
Cris and I are in Vancouver. She is here for the AERA conference and I am just tagging along. This is a most remarkable city. I am happy that there are lots of crows about. They seem to have displaced the usual pigeons that often dominate cities. There is water everywhere and lots of seagulls but it is the crows that are the most fun to watch. / The weather has been lovely; lots of sun and in the mid to upper 50s which is perfect for walking in Stanely Park.
I was in London a month ago and the magnolia trees were just starting to bloom. Now they are at the same stage here in Vancouver. Everything is popping out. Flowers are everywhere in the city and I am overwhelmed with how beautiful this place is.
Spring in Bishop’s Park London
Peter and I are off to the Cottage for the match between Fulham and Swansea. He’ll be talking to supporters about his project and we’ll see the game. We will walk through Bishop’s park again to get to the ground. It is a bit rainy this morning and not quite as nice as on Thursday when I took this shot. Spring has come a bit early here this year and the trees are really coming out. Can anyone tell me to what tree these buds belong?
Staff Boat
This is a silly photograph, but I like it because it is the only time I have ever taken a shot of the sky where a seagull and an airplane appear to be the same size. (Lower right corner, but maybe it’s too hard to see on a computer monitor. Oh well.)
Christmas Cacti
As I mentioned in an earlier post, our Christmas Cacti are in full bloom. They were outside all summer and through the autumn. My sister had told us not to bring them in until a hard freeze, so they came in just before the big storm at Halloween. We don’t pay much attention to the house plants; leave ’em out in the warm months, bring ’em in during the winter, and they seem to like it. The rosemary is still outside and looks great. I hope it survives the winter.
Cows
I left the house early this morning to drive up to Maine to visit my brother for a few days. The morning light was lovely and when I saw these cows, I pulled over to take a few shots.
Tulip
I bought some tulips over a week ago and they have lasted quite well. They are on their last legs now, but this one opened up nicely. / Both Christmas cacti are flowering as is the rosemary out on the deck. I think the early snow followed by the warm weather has confused the plants.
Pizza Hunt
On my way to Albany yesterday to do more work on the suitcases, I drove past this abandoned Pizza Hut on Route 9 in Hadley. I have always wanted to photograph it in the fog, and the conditions were just right. This building is odd to begin with, and the fact that it sits empty in the middle of an otherwise highly developed area makes it even stranger. I think it has been empty for at least 5 years. When Peter was a little boy, we once went there for one of those kids birthday parties, and even then it was a bit other-worldly. I wonder if this was the bog standard corporate design for smaller New England Pizza Huts. As Peter was learning to talk, he would often add consonants to words where they didn’t belong; hence this building was, and still is the Pizza Hunt.
JFK Terminal 4 again
I drove down to JFK again early this morning to pick up Cris and her co-worker Kate. As we walked out of the terminal, the sun was just coming up and the sky was wild. There is something about airports and light. / I just want to take a minute to acknowledge all of the new subscribers to this site. The suitcase project has brought many of you here, and I really appreciate your interest and comments. Thank you all so much.
Monday morning 6.15
A very interesting weekend here. Lost power here at 10 Saturday night. Cell phone towers were down too, so no email or internet. Drove Peter back to Union on Sunday afternoon, and finally got a signal at one of the Berkshire rest areas on the Pike. Amazingly, skyped Cris in Gaza from my phone and she assured me she was ok, in spite of the recent hostilities. Then saw all the email from Kickstarter backers and am just totally blown away. So many people to respond to and thank and it will take a while. Got back to a very dark house last night, stoked up the wood stove and lit some candles. Power came back on just after 6.00 this morning. / Thanks to everyone for the support and encouragement; I’ll be posting an update on Kickstarter in a bit.
Tree Eyes Again
I am still seeing the eyes. I was thinking with all the wind from Irene that the one on the right would disappear, but the storm seems to be mostly past us and he (Alex named him Ramon) is still there. We started to have rain late yesterday and it has continued steadily since then. Some wind but nothing too severe. The tomato plants on the deck have fallen over a few times and it is very dark outside, but in all not a bad day. Peter and I may take the Pearl for a walk in a bit.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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