Log/Pic 78 Eagles

So I had the opportunity to tag baby eagles. I can not give details as to where, but I can share the experience. A climber scaled a huge tree overlooking a body of water, he reached in the 4-5 foot nest and pulled out a baby.

The climber placed the eagle in this bag and sent it down to us on the ground.

The baby was weighed

Tagged

Age determined

And thoroughly checked by a vet

Blood samples were taken

Talons measured

Check those talons

Hydrated

Had it's photo taken

And said it's goodbyes

This process was repeated for each of the 3 babies!

Log/Pic 77 New York & Paintball

So December started with a trip to the big apple with the Explorations crew. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. Monet had a water lilly display and Tim Burton had a wicked creepy display.

Saw Donald...not

Would not be Christmas without a trip to F.A.O. Schwartz

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Rockefeller Center with

Bill & Jill & the youths

Nothing says Christmas like a friendly game of paintball. Also with the students and staff of Explorations.

Me and Jeff in camo.

We played until dark.

Log/Pic 76 Larry the Cable Guy & NY

Log/Pics 75 Turtles & Book

So this fall I missed out on my annual motorcycle foliage trip and had to settle for kayaking foliage. This turtle-whose colors matched the leaves-was caught on camera exercising.
Above: left leg lifts
Below: right leg lifts

Followed by a series of push-ups!

Last year travel writer Doug Lansky bought the rights to one of my travel photos. This year he included it in his latest book. Yeah!

Log/Pic 74 TVAA Art Show

Above is the article in the Southwick Suffield News about an art show I was in. I'm on the right with my Jungle hat,

So here I am at the Tobacco Valley Artist Association Art Show.

It was their seventh annual show.

I had space number seven.

I sold seven photos.

Enfield Public Library asked me to put up a nature display in their community center.

I was happy to oblige.

Log/Pic 73 Spain/Canary Islands, Morocco & Portugal

Above is me in a sea cave in La Gomera

So after a day in Madrid, we headed out to the Canary Islands. We started in Fuertoventura and stayed in the rural area of Villaverde at this 200 year-old hacienda.

View from within a cave on Tindaya Mountain

Bread-man pulling fresh bread from an outdoor stone stove
Bread-woman selling fresh baked bread to us

Great kite-surfing beaches. Below is a nude beach.

Took a ferry over to Lanzanote...

... to see the volcano.
Then to La Gomera to see the sea caves (1st photo)...

...and plush forests

After a week there, we flew to Malaga, Spain and then on to Gibralter-to see the rock.
From there we drove to the southern tip and took a ferry over to Morocco.

Venders everywhere
Lisa's first camel ride-in Africa-with a seperated collar bone.

Took time for some Moroccan music

Drove the rest of the southern coast of Spain and up to Seville.

Saw Christopher Columbus's Tombinside St. Mark's Church...

...and also his monument in a nearby park next to a palace.

We crossed over into Portugal and saw this graveyard within a castle.

The beaches along the southern coast, the Algarves, was my favorite part of this country. I was not the only one apparently because it was way overcrowded. After we made it to the end of the southern coast- spending two nights sleeping in the compact rental car- we drove up the east coast and then headed inland visiting several other little towns along the way.