Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Umbrella-mouth Gulper

London ~ February 20, 2010
Natural History Museum

I was so excited to find this critter swimming in the air behind glass. Partly I was excited because it's just weird, and partly because at the time I had one in my online store (see below). Note the teenie eyes up near the nose. This eel was about 18 inches long, I think.



This is the plastic gulper eel I had in the store. I've said it in past tense because, unfortunately, we don't have this guy around anymore. Like so many wonderful realistic toy animals, the manufacturer discontinued it. What can they have been thinking?

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Sunday, March 17, 2013

A Garden on a Mountaintop

Ravello, Italy ~ April 19, 2004
Garden of the Villa Cimbrone

Ravello was magical. I've posted photos of Ravello a number of times on this blog, including several from the belvedere at the end of this garden.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Someday I Will Go Inside

Paris ~ October 14, 2008

I love this building at 2 Rue Buffon near the southeast corner of the Jardin des Plantes. I've taken many pictures of the outside, including its very cool dinosaur sculpture and the critters attached to the outside of the building, but the doors have always been locked when I've been there. The inside of this building is the kind of thing I dream about. I can't imagine anyplace better. I should have been a paleontologist.

The early scientists are memorialized along with the animals. The name on the plaque in this photo is A. d'Orbigny. Alcide Dessalines d'Orbigney (1802-1857) traveled in South America and studied it's natural history and geology. He drew the first comprehensive map of the continent and is considered the father of stratigraphical paleontology, having noticed the importance played by the different layers in which fossils are found.

Update: I haven't been posting regularly. I've been feeling worse for a few days, but today I'm feeling better. I'm still topsy-turvey from the parathyroid disease and the surgeries in 2012. I'm beginning to figure out why my recovery may be so slow. Calcium is absolutely vital to the way the body works. It's not just about building strong bones and healthy teeth. It acts as a secondary messaging system for the endocrine system as well as a transmitter for the nervous system. Over the years my whole body had to adjust to higher calcium, then suddenly they threw it a curve-ball, removing the tumors that kept my calcium too high and causing it to go much lower. This looks perfect on paper, but everything has to adjust. Nobody explained the degree to which this could happen. I knew that the nervous system was affected, but I didn't realize until yesterday that calcium is also a transmitter for hormones, including thyroid and others. My thyroid TSH was at a pretty normal level before the first surgery and now it's quite high. I guess it takes a while to come back to normal. Meanwhile, life can be very uncomfortable. I was improving through January, and then February became very stressful and I got severe flu (or something). When I type too much I get inflammations, which is why I haven't been commenting, either. I'm doing better today, and trying to do everything right. Eating gobs of protein and taking lots of calcium helps, along with sleep and rest. I'm still figuring it out myself and with several Facebook groups, as my doctors have all been very uninformed on relevant points.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Monday, March 11, 2013

Rare Photo of Shakespeare's Fireplace

 Stratford-upon-Avon ~ February 17, 2010

It's a nice old back plate and a cozy setting, but the real reason this may be a rare photo is because it's illegal. The moment after I took it, I was scolded and asked to put my camera away. We had just come in from the drizzly cold by the back door tourist entrance and entered the second building on the property where William Shakespeare was born. I guess somebody was worried that I could sell this picture for a lot of money. Or maybe they just wanted me to spend my pounds in the souvenir shop, which I did anyway. What do you think? 

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Astoria Outside In

Astoria, Oregon ~ February 11, 2010

The surreal image is complete because we all know that orange cones belong outside on the street.

Taking part in Weekend Reflections

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Friday, March 8, 2013

Phantom Flyer

Portland International Airport (PDX) ~ February12, 2010

I thought up the title before I realized there were web sites and clubs with the name already. They mean something slightly different.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Heads or Tails?

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) ~ January 5, 2006

On the way to Panama. . . .

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Yellow Earth

Outside Bisbee, Arizona ~ December 28, 2004

It was hard to picture my grandparents living in this small, isolated town in the 1920s, but my grandfather had just left the Coast Guard and graduated from the Colorado School of Mines. He had gotten a degree in mining engineering, and Bisbee was all about mining. 

They tried to raise two little boys here, but they soon left. One of the reasons my grandmother gave was that it was too hard on her chasing my dad and uncle up and down the hill that Bisbee was built on. I can imagine.

Bisbee, Arizona ~ December 28, 2004

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Friday, March 1, 2013

Violet with Spots

Tacoma, Washington ~ April 22, 2005

I don't know what this is. It's violet, it has spots. I think that's a good recommendation any day.

My Web Page: tapirback.com