Only One Thing In Common

Here are the things I DON'T have in common with those pictured above:

I still have my original liver.
I've never gotten a DUI in Scandanavia.
Alanis Morissette has never written a mean song about me.
I never said I was better than the Beatles.
I hate country music.
I've eaten this week.
I've never been run over by a van while out for a walk.
I don't watch "American Justice."
My crazy brother didn't try and whack himself last month.

But I do share a September 21st birthday with these folks, whether I like it or not.
Click here for a full list.

34 today. Can't say I really like the way that rolls off the tongue. Sounds a tad bit old.

Roughing It

But not so rough that I don't have internet access. Ah, technology.

I'm covering an endurance horse race (in name only) that's stopped over in Council Grove. They take off at 7 a.m. and I want to be there for that sweet light.

Any photo assignment that requires my throwing the tent in the car is a good photo assignment.

Not in my Backyard!

I took a look out my back door this morning, looking for my cats, and saw this fella hanging out on my fence.

Thought #1: Get the camera!
Thought#2: Get the gun! (i'm kidding!)
Thought#3: Get the cats!

Honestly, I was worried this hawk was thinking that perhaps The Darn Tootins (the collective name we've given Spatz and Zelde) would make a nice breakfast.

I suspect that maybe they're a bit on the large side for what this bird considers to be prey, but maybe he (or she) was feeling ambitious.

Any of you bird lovers (nerds) know what kind of hawk this is?

Now That's More Like It

It's 7:06 a.m. and I'm out on my deck drinking coffee and reading the news (yes, on a laptop, not in the paper)

This is the sort of morning I was dreaming about last month when it was too hot to think.

49 degrees. I can see my breath right now and I love it.

...And Yet Another Reason To Get The Hell Out of Dodge

As if you needed a reason to be there to begin with.

These are not crows. They sure in the hell ain't songbirds.

They're buzzards. Or Turkey Vultures if you want to get technical. Cathartes aura if you just want to look like a nerd.

Whatever the hell you want to call them. They've taken up residence on the Dodge City water tower. Lot of 'em.

Now here's what our good friend Wikepedia says about the Turkey Vulture: "This vulture feeds primarily on a wide variety of carrion, from small mammals to large grazers, preferring those recently dead."

If you've ever been to Dodge, you know you're there when you smell it. Slaughterhouses and Feedlots are king.

It also pretends to be a tourist destination. Famed for being the town tamed by Wyatt Earp. Maybe buzzards are part of the "old west feel."

Maybe there's just a lot of dead stuff lying around for them to eat.

Get a Leg Up

It's State Fair time in Kansas again. Why do I keep forgetting to take my vacation during the second week of September?

Actually.... I sorta like the fair. Only rock concerts rival the people watching opportunities one can find at the Kansas State Fair.

Example: Where else can you find a 300 pound woman in a wheelchair smoking a cigarette while she orders up some more deep fried pleasure?

I'll point you towards some multimedia stuff i'm working on later in the week. Should be fun.

Thanks to Denise for snappin' this shot with her trusty point n' shoot.