A series of a great blue heron on a windy day at the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge - some say that heron photos are old and not very interesting - I think I disagree. You tell me . . .

a series of different butterflies from Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge today - the common buckeye at the top looks so ordinary in real life but so extraordinary in close-up photography

What the hell?? that's what I think I heard from the eagle when I took this picture today at the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge - about 10 miles from our house

Sept 1, 2010 - gee but it's nice to be back home again . . .

Nick and I in Munich August 29, 2010

Munich, Germany - the Nymphenburg Palace - this was the summer home for the ruling family - an extensive set of buildings, parks and museums - it was very cold and rainy that day but still quite a sight.

Munich, Germany - Marienplatz - a very nice square and baroque church.

Munich, Germany Aug 28-31, 2010 - Munich is a surprisingly pretty and clean city with some great parks and buildings. These 2 pictures are from The English Gardens, very attractive as well as having an interesting spot on a river where surfer's try their luck on the standing wave generated after passage under a bridge.

This was the setting for our stay in Tuscany. We stayed in an apartment near the Windmill. The landscapes of gently arranged sheets of music with lines of grapevines blended with blocks of grey greel olive trees in a backdrop of hills and mountains sing out songs of serenity. The songs are particularly necessary after you drive there and in pure panic up the narrow twisted roads where you cannot tell if there may be another car descending the curve as you gun the car up. I think Italians figure - what are the odds? and don't get too excited.

Donatello's David is seen as the beginning of the Renaissance. None of the Museums in Florence allowed picture taking - but I did get this one in before they started yelling at me. We were able to see the 3 main museums - the Bargello, the Uffizi and the L'Accadamie in one day and were pretty much in a state of brain freeze - feeling something like eating ice cream way too fast, only it lasted longer. This piece along with Botticelli's Venus and Primavera pieces and Michaelangelo's David and Prisoners were the stars. The progression from the flat medieval religious scenes to the Renaissance rediscovery of perspective, shapes, the human fugure and humanism in general was also nicely displayed in the Uffizi.

Montalcino - a very nice little town, most famous for the best wine in Italy known as Brunello. Went on a tour visiting 2 wineries - the second was made special by the old couple the owns and runs the winery. He also maintains a museum of winemaking tools. Neither he nor his wife spoke English, but they were all excited by the attention and clearly proud of their wine. As he was pouring the wine, she would distribute snacks of cheese and prosciuto. He was so thrilled that I ordered a case to be shipped that he handed me a free bottle and signed both the bottle and the box.

Siena - a very nice small city with a large "campo" where once a year the various sections of the city enter a horse and jockey into a horse race. The rules are Italian style. As Nick tells me - in Germany the rules are the rules, in Austria the rules are suggestions and in Italy the rules are a joke. Often neighborhoods will gang up on other neighborhoods - and basically whatever horse crosses the finish line first wins - whether or not there is still a jockey. This is a picture of their Duomo and campanille - or cathedral and bell tower.

the 25th anniversary shot from the restaurant

Florence, Italy - a view of the Ponte Vecchio ( meaning "old bridge" - or in reality, a very busy pedestrian bridge filled with jewelry stores) and a view from the Ponte Vecchio. Florence is a very beautiful, picturesque, clean city that is central to the art of the Renaissance.

Florence, Italy - the art in Florence is what makes it one of the best destination cities that you need to see. This is the fake David that is outside in a square - nearby is the statues of Perseus slaying Medusa. There are many statues outside in the piazza that are available to wander and circle around. When you go inside the galleries - it is even more inspiring. When you see the true david by Michaelangelo - there are no words that can describe what he was able to create out of stone. Leading up to the statue of david in the gallery are a number of Michaelangelo "Prisoners" - so called becasue he never finished them and so it appears to be portions of people still partially embedded and struggling to be free of the stone.

A random set of stairs at San Giminignano - a great town except of course for the thousands of tourists and the many tourist trap stores. It is a tourist trap for a reason, however - it is incredibly well preserved medieval town with stome towers and stairs - hills and cobblestone walkways - and set on the top of a hill with views that are breathtaking.

A typical little tuscan hilltop town.

Sunset on the farm.

August 21. 2010 - Pontassieve, Tuscany - Italy - the view from our apartment window on the Agriturismo Fattoria Lavacchio. Incredible views - but the beuaty was counterbalanced by the absolute white knuckled, unable-to-pry -your-hands-from-the-steering-wheel-for-at-least 5-minutes-after-parking ride up the hill. The road is the average width of an American driveway. there are a cluster or hairpin turns that are so steep that you cannot see if there is anyone going down at the same time unless you have a convertible because it is well above the roof line. And unbelievably enough, a bus goes up the hill to the area of the farm. fortunately, I never crossed paths with the bus while driving.