The first blooms in the yard.

I was out throwing grass seed around the front and back yards and noticed the buds on the Lilac bush in the first picture.

When I looked a little a bit farther, I noticed the Blue Bells were in bloom. They always arrive sooner than the other plants. Behind them the Mint is starting to arrive as well.

Here's a little different angle of the Blue Bells. My Daffodils are up and getting ready to bloom but, not quite ready yet, So, I'll take them when they have their best faces on.

Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig

Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

The Tasmanian Tiger aka Thylacine

Here is a picture of a male Thylacine.

Here is a litter of Thylacines.

The amazing angle of the open mouth is much greater than that of dogs, cats or other marsupials. It is thought that this posture was to scare off a potential fight or battle with other males.

Here is a picture of one sleeping.

This picture is of a male and a female.

I have always been interested in the Thylacine which became extinct in the 1930s. At one time in history they were in Australia but died out many years ago. They were also, located in New Zealand and finally Tasmania. They were wiped out because they found feeding on sheep easier than some of their local prey. This marsupial used to keep the kangaroo populations in check until man brought sheep and other animals to the continent which threw off the balance in nature. The rabbits introduced competed with some of the other plant eating animals and the fox introduced to keep the rabbits in check also attacked the slower moving marsupials who have very few predators keeping them in balance. One of these was the Thylacine.

Though this animal is considered extinct, there have been sightings in Tasmania along with foot prints that appear similar to the Thylacine. Their howl has also been noted. What is fascinating to me is that this predator, like other marsupials carried their young in pouches. It was also difficult to tell the female from the male, save their size differences, due to this pouch covering their genitalia. It was thought it might have been protection for the male running through the thorny brush whilst running down prey.

I am one of those dreamers who hope this beautiful animal is still with us but smart enough to stay away from us.

Past Haunts of My Youth

The Telway ( which is still in business ) is on the corner of John R. street and 11 mile road. Down the street about a quarter of a mile is the high school where I attended and graduated. This hamburger shop was a great place to get an hamburger when you were in the area and hungry.

This is Bray's hamburger place that used to be on the corner of John R. and 10 mile road. The Chrysler Freeway and the huge clover-leaf that connected it to I-75 replaced a few streets and this place.

This is the largest real tire in the world and it is still standing. Its stand is as large as many houses in the area.

This is Hege's Wigwam department store. It was the largest Tee Pee ( Wigwam ) built. The building was torn down and replaced. Notice the real carved wooden Indian posts supporting the building canopy. I remember another carved Indian statue standing at the entrance of the store as well.

This is the largest replica of a stove in the world. It used to reside at the Fair Grounds on Woodward Ave. near 8 mile in Detroit, Michigan. It was in need of TLC when I left Detroit in 1981 and was purchased and moved by a private buyer. This very place was where the Martin Bus Line ended when going south and the Detroit Metro Bus service started heading south. The Martin Lines covered the cities of Hazel Park, Madison Heights, went west and covered Royal Oak. I recall it being a nickel to ride that line and a dime to ride the one going into Detroit. Of course, I'm dating myself and the prices slowly rose, but the last time I rode a Detroit bus, it was twenty-five cents and a nickel for the transfer. I wish I could have found some other pictures of "The Loop." This was a drive-in and those teenagers who had cars would cruise from this place up John R. going north to the McDonald's Drive through and back south to the Loop again, looking for friends and just hanging out. Hope you enjoyed my wee trip back in time.

Kindly, scroll down through the pictures and enjoy!

Human beings are such small creatures, aren't they?

Lenticular Clouds

These Lenticular clouds were taken near Mt. Rainer by an unknown photographer to me. It's amazing how the topography and associated winds blowing over it, can create these beautiful cloud patterns.

I haven't been blogging or visiting my favorite bloggers recently due to a very nasty computer virus. Steve, with the help of our new virus service, have gotten me back on line and up and running. ( fingers and toes crossed )

I hope you're all well and moving forward in this new year. It's depressing watching so many people being laid-off because of this economy resulting from the greed of the rich businesses and all the deregulation which allowed them to get away with their gluttony for money. There are better times coming.

Our Boy, Seán

Here's two pictures of our boy, Seán. He recently turned three years old and already has some gray around his muzzle. He has learned that when I try and pull out the camera to get a picture of him, he usually looks away or drops the ball. He has this wonderful way of getting one's attention by giving your arm a few "kisses" and then resting his chin on your arm whilst looking up at you with those two, big beautiful brown eyes.

Perseverance finally pays off. I distracted him long enough to actually get a picture of him with his favorite ball in his mouth. He usually drops it before I can snap the picture.