September 1-September 19

 Well, we went to Africa and got back in one piece, although I got a really bad cold the last day there and only shook it a week later.  Still, it was a good trip, though a rough one.  I, for one, didn't expect it to be primarily a tent safari with holes in the ground for sanitary facilities!  On top of that, Sherry was threatened with arrest at the airport when we were leaving Zambia because a spot check detected Benedryl in her carry on.  Highly dangerous drug in Zambia, evidently.  It was just a shake down for a bribe.  But, with the help of our feisty group leader Ruth, we got Sherry released without paying.  Still, it was scary until it was all over.  We survived it all and made it to Home Sweet Home.  Here ares two links to photos that are pretty much random without much text.  They aren't really put together to tell the story yet.  That will have to come later.  Just too much catching up on other things still to do.  (We just became grandparents for the second time October 19th and the run up to that took just about all the energy either of us had to spend.)

Click here for the safari photos in Botswana and the lodge photos at Victoria Falls in Livingston, Zambia.  Click here for some photos of a village we visited in Zambia.
 
 

Walked down by the stadium before my 6:30 yoga class at St. Ann's.  This is the big sculpture, "Ghost Ballet" near there.  Hmmmmmmm.......	Fished in the pool below Center Hill Dam Saturday and caught this 14" crappie.  It was really nice to catch a big one, but that was the crop except for one small bream and a few hits by gar, who threw the hook.  Nothing else.
This is part of what we are taking.  We have a 39 lb. limit on the small plane that takes us to Botswana but that's a lot of stuff so it should be no problem.  Chief problem is nights down to 50ºf and days up to 95.	Sherry is taking enough pills and bug juice to keep everybody healthy and unbitten.  Also pencils, pads, and toys for village children.  Plus who knows....?

That's a female humming bird.  She finally showed up in late July.  Now we have a male and naturally they fight all the time.	We had Sherry's birthday party early on August 3 so Hanley and Denile, who were passing through on the way from North Carolina kayaking, could join.
Here is the birthday girl and her two fine children.	That's Ms. Phila Hach, who put on this feast just for us.  At a very reasonable rate too.  Phila is way up in her 70's and has never stopped.  Go you Phila!
Early August and the blackberries are drying up.  No rain for over a month.	The little doodlebugs like it.  They don't have to rebuild their walls as often.
This pretty spider enjoys a bite.	Up at Center Hill my friend, Harry Murphy, shot this one of me and a bass I caught in the fast water below the waterfall.
This crappie took the same blue back rapala.	I heard they had stocked brook trout and caught one.  The only other fish I caught all day.
Inez from Jackson, MS, Sherry's old school chum tried out the new yellow kayak.  It rode low even with me so I sold it the next week.	There is the fearless Sherry wrapped up against the August chill.
Look close and you'll see it is two butterflies locked in bliss.  They went at it a long time on the arch.  We also have videos if you are interested.	Mystery solved.  Here's a shot of the groundhog that ate the leaves off Sherry's ornamental sweet potato vine.  Here he is eating the grain that has been dropped out of the bird feeder.
Grand Daddy's little helper with a basket of beets for Grandmother.	Murphy and I went back out Sunday, the 17th.  Got this shot of a nest inside a hollowed out log.
Caught three or four smallish bass.  Nothing like the big one I missed.  I did!	Here's Harry.  He and I were in the 369th Ambulance Train, Rail, together back in the late 60's and early 70's.  It was too nuts to be believed, but kept us out of Viet Nam.
Sunday the 24th I tried out a private lake a client had.  Caught three or four nice bass on a purple worm.	None of the bass were huge, but something that rolled out in the middle was.  It looked and sounded like the Loch Ness Monster.  Probably a big carp or gar.  Hope to find out later on.

Walk down Russell St. in East Nashville early before my yoga class.  This old church house is for sale.  Still impressive in decay.	Got this indigo bunting just before he saw me.
Friday downtown before yoga walking with Becky we saw this line of oak trees loaded with acorns.  No squirrel need go hungry on 4th Avenue North.	Up at the capitol, Andrew Jackson and Horse salute the rising sun.
On the way back now on the Shelby Street walking bridge.  This is the city boondoggle sculpture for which you and I paid dearly.  Some racket.	Saturday I shot the garden good with dish soap and oil mixed.  It is supposed to kill the chiggers and aphids.  This is about the third dosing.  After that I braved the fates and got in there and weeded and picked.  Must have worked.  I only got one or two.
Okra is jumping up.  Have to pick it every day or it gets too big.	Went down and picked string beans and limas at Travis' house.  These are really big limas that cook up a bit purple.  They are Christmas limas and very good.  Must remember to get them next year.  Good thing I made a chart!
Cheek P is really mossed up, but there are plenty of bass if you can find a lure to use.  A purple worm with no weight except the hook did the trick.  The bass would go for it if they didn't see me first and it picked up very little moss.	These undercut limestone clifts are pretty with the cactus hanging down, but looking up you realize how unstable some of those big rocks are.  Ouch!
The water running under the moss is crystal clear.  Here and there a fish bed is visable, but most of the creek life is under the moss in the darkness.	At 4:22:13pm exactly, according to Mr. Watch, I held my best bass of the day up for his photo op.  Note the moss hanging to the line.
On the way to the car found this beautiful butterfly on one of the minature thistle plants that grow everywhere on the banks above the creek.	Got this long shot of an impressive dragonfly.  From a distance all you could see were the white bars.  Spooky.  This long shot was almost too much for my little 3X Canon, but not quite.  Anyone know what name she has?

Monday Sherry and I were sitting on the deck and she saw something big fly into the trees near the owl house.  Sure enough, it was this young fuzzy owl.  There were also two others, probably the parents,  in the shadows, but the camera wasn't up to the challenge and I got no decent pics.	Tuesday at SB early and someone, probably two people at least, has got the paddle boat onto the pond.
The pond is slowly growing smaller as the rains grow less.	Walked down to the river near the stadium before the Wednesday yoga class at St. Anne's.  The cletes for docking boats at the public ramp had all been valdalized like this one.
Thursday at Volleyball we had half the Turkish nation.   Barbaros and Ozge were there along with her Father, Mother, and little sister. They have flown over here to help with the baby due next month.  Here we have Father Ata, Mother Nursel, Baby Sister Sila, and Papa Barbaros.	Saturday I worked all day in the yard, but Sunday I fished below Center Hill in the pool below the dam.  Saw this Louisanna Heron on the wing wall.   Fished hard for bass and trout for two or three hours.  I even trolled, but only caught an occasional small stripe.  Then my luck changed...
Got into crappie at the big log and caught 15 or 20 on the fly rod and tiny cork and jig.  Gave most of them away to a guy who got a ticket from the Game and Fish for not wearing his life perserver.  He and his wife were fishing out of kayaks.  The game cops tooted at me to come to the shore.  I thought I was getting a ticket, but he wanted a ride out to the kayakers.  I gave him one, although if I had had my brain in gear I guess I could have refused.  Feel stupid and bad about it though.  Aiding the life preserver gestapo is not my intention.  Not after paying $140 for the same thing a couple of Summers ago!	These two canoes of large people were putting in as I was leaving.  The big Mama in the water had just fallen in.  They were all super-size folks, so I hope they made it all the way to the take out without more unexpected dips.

While I still had the Kodak I tries the 12X zoom on Buel's house across the river.  Excellent lens.  Too bad the camera eats batteries so fast.	Tuesday at Shelby Bottoms I got this view of the "living roof" on a section of the visitors center.  Unfortunately, the facility doesn't open til 12 and closes at 4.
These bumble bees like to spend the night among the milk weed blossoms.	Strange sight as I was driving through SB on the way to the Y.  Fire truck shooting tons of water across the lake.  Maybe flushing the tank out?
July 3rd and they say 4th of July is when the blackberries are ready.	Intrepid pickers brave the chiggers in search of the sweet fruits.
Kodak and long lens Canon are gone.  The little Canon with 3x lens did a pretty good job on this Yellow Throat.	The morning glories are at their peak.
My sweet basil always gets wilt or some other disease in the garden, so I planted a batch in this crock and so far it seems to be doing well.	I've got one bell pepper ready to pick.  I think it is a California Wonder.  It doesn't look much like a Choclate Beauty, a new kind I'm trying this year.
These Big Boys look like they are going to be the first to ripen.  Just on schedule too.  4th of July.	Hard to beat Sweet 100's cherry tomatoes.
The cucumbers like their cages.  I get the pickling kind since they get so big before you find them that the bigger kind would look like watermelons.	First egg plant.  Iciban.  I've also got some Millionaire, another Japanese variety, but  the regular shape.  The Icibans are kicking Millionaire's behind.
Saturday, despite the chigger threat, Sherry doused with Skin So Soft and Fabric Softener and weeded her big garden.  She still got chiggers, but not as many maybe.	I planted okra between the onions and tomatoes and it's coming along.   Trouble is you have to pick it every day or it gets too big.  I hate to shoot up with Deet just to pick a few okra, so it is a problem.  I'm planning to shoot diluted dishwashing soap and veggie oil mix on the garden next Saturday.  It is supposed to kill the chiggers, or at least slow them down.
I've begun pulling the onions.  The tops die and that's when they are ready.	Aren't they pretty?  Big too and very few rotted in the ground.
Saturday I took the camera fishing and mostly took photos since the fish weren't too willing.  I was too late to get a photo of the beaver before he ducked under these roots and went into his den.	Got a better photo of the little frogs. Or, are they toads?  I wish I could have put a penny in the shot.  Froggie or Toadie would have fit on top.
Beautiful group of yellow and orange butterflies with the little grey ones.	Don't know the name, but plan to look it up.
Sunday went to Creek C with the two seat kayak.  Caught a huge bass in this deep hole under the bluff.  Fought it a long time and then she threw lure. Before I could reel it in she took it again, or one just as big did, and I had another thrill before she threw the lure again.  After moving on up the creek until it got too small I came back and damned if she didn't take the lure again.	This Sluggo-like lure (a 32nd oz. jig--single hook with no barb) was the magic attraction for big bass Sunday.   And all this time I've been fishing topwaters-- Rapalas and Tiny Torpedos.  You certainly get stuck in your ways!
I got hung up in some bushes along the bluff and while I was untangling my lure I noticed these huge spiders on the underside of a rock overhang.	This one was next to a dried skeleton of one just as big.  Her mate?

I had four beautiful squash plants, but the vine borers have got them.  I seldom have any luck with squash.  The borers stay in the soil.	I took a new route Thursday and went by the lake at Shelby Park.  This mother mallard and her babies were fearless.  The little ones are eating moss.
The bush beans on both ends of the row are ready.  I guess they get more sun.	Look at all the blossoms.  Travis is going to get a lot of pole beans.
These purple ones turn green when they are cooked, Travis tells me.	Enough to eat and fresh off the vine.  It doesn't get any better than that.
Later that Saturday I fished a nearby creek.  It was pretty mossy and stormy and the fish weren't hitting.  I had to shelter under the trees along the bank a couple of times to get out of the showers.	On the way back I passed several shallow pools in the rocks full of tadpoles.  They needed a big rain to keep from drying up.  I doubt they got it.
I also disturbed a herd of tiny frogs, no bigger than your little finger nail.  It was not easy getting a shot.  They kept hopping away.	I saw this really pretty minature thistle near the car.
This huge dragon fly was flying about near the car.  I never got a good picture of him, but sure shot enough trying.	Sunday I decided to fish the Cumberland.  Everyone asks if I do, since we live right on it.  Okay, I thought, I'll give it a try.  It was very windy and I had a hard time finding a place I could fish without paddling all the time.  This old structure upstream from Lock Two Park should have been the jackpot.  But no fish at all.  Oh well, now I know why I seldom fish the Cumberland.