Once a few days, eh? It's been 10 days, man...!!

Since I came home from Japan, I haven't taken any photos....too busy to process the photos from Japan.....that's why I don't remember about this page......

OK, another mammal I'd met in Hokkaido....Chipmunks.

We saw Foxes and Deers, we were expecting to see them but Chipmunks! They were at the top of the Mt. Mikuni, we saw them behind the small rest house at Mikuni Pass.

We were very glad to see them, but this was the same problem about the foxes....they were used to people too much and didn't mind to show up in front of us......

So long...

We were expecting to see a fox during our Hokkaido trip, and we did!! This was a very friendly and pretty one!

My daughter and my niece on the way to Cape Erimo

My Mom and daughter near Hiroo town(above) and a view close to our house in Tokyo(below)

It's been more than one month.....I'd never even open this site....!

My resolution in the middle of the Summer, to write this at least once a few days!

I came home from Japan last Tuesday, I still have my jeglag symptom - wake up early (4 am) and get so sleepy at early nights. Luckily, I feel OK in the day time, I went back to work with no problem. The rest of the day, when I sit in front of my computer, I have to see all the photos I took in Japan (1,210) and check them, fix them and delete them.....so I feel like, I still am in Japan and still enjoy my vacation......

This time, I went to Japan with my daugher and my niece. We had two days in Tokyo before the trip to Hokkaido, 7 days in Hokkaido, Obihiro, Sounkyo and Abashiri, and another 4 days in Tokyo.

The first thing I did in Tokyo---I bought a new camera!! I was planning to buy another Sony, Alpha 350, but they changed the model already and the very new model Alpha 380 was on the market just the day I went to the store! So, I was one of the first to own this camera, and possibly the only one in the States!!

Hokkaido trip - we were in my Mom's hometown Obihiro for 3 nights, to see Mom's old friend. But my niece got a high fever, we got to visit a Doctor. The fever was gone soon but she was feeling little weaker but we had to drive to another place for 3 more nights...

When we were back in Tokyo, we did shoppings, we went to see my high school friends, went to Ueno Zoo with some of them and went to see Mom's Dr. at the hospital. He told me the best news that my Mom's doing very fine, nothing to worry about! Still hard to leave her alone again.....but after about 18 hours flight and changing planes, we were back home.

...and my computer....

(OK, thanks for working for me for a long time!)

The same weekend I lost my lens to NYC and my contact lens, now what, my computer's gone.

A Virus Attack. I'been noticing that some message windows pop up too often saying that "..application not found..." "...couldn't find inCD something..." but working just fine. But this saturday, even the popup blocker is on, suddenly lots and lots of Popup ads came up, and (this is the worst) Voice-Ads started. Just the voice saying this and that, no windows so I can't close, I can't get rid of the voices....and the next day, these things escalated in a light speed, like, a hundred of Ad-windows at the same time on the screen and crazy voices...... so I had to disconnect the internet. I should do that much earlier......it was too late.....

My 3rd loss......why everything at once? Oh, and the TV is broken. Not showing anything on the screen suddenly. Might be the age, but why now???

My lens gone again and my contact lens....

5/20/09 I went back to Long Key Nature Center with my friend again, and took a lot of photos of these birds. Later that day, I checked them with my computer and found a shocking fact.....yes, actually, after my 300mm lens came back from the repair, I haven't taken a lot of photos until this day but I've been thinking, hummmm..I am taking a lot of blury photos recently....but it wasn't my fault! All (over 100) photos taken with 300mm lens this day, were not sharp, I couldn't notice in the camera's small LCD, but all blury in a strange way. Then I finally came to conclusion, the shocking fact, that AUTO FOCUS is not working!!!
I called Sigma and sent the lens back to NYC for repair again, but what about my time - 3 hours? and my pics - close to 200? all wasted! Not fair!!
A few pics survived.....this is a Cattle Egret Mom with her baby....

5/22/09 After the bird shooting at Long Key on 5/20, I stopped by at Flamingo Garden, too, and found a lot of nice flowers but the pics weren't good. So I went back to the Garden again.
It was a rainy day....I was in a rain jacket, holding umbrella and tripod....so keep the camera up to take pics were very hard job!! I don't usually feel it, but the camera's so heavy!
I love rain drops so it was very interesting shooting, I got soaked wet through my jacket, my jeans also wet to keep my camera safe!
Adding to the loss of my 300mm lens to repair, I lost my right contact lens this day....
onto the dirt of the foot of my object...a beautiful flower I was shooting with Macro lens.....
I couldn't find it, I came home with one eye.....almost....with lots of rain pics....anyway.

May 3, 2009 Sunday Babay shower for a young couple at Tree Tops Park.

He was an instructor of Kickboxing Class in my old Gym which went out of business....and she was always in his class, and that couple will going to have a baby boy!!

That Diaper cake was his sister's design. Guess how many diapers were used?

Answer:68 My guess was 75, but somebody got "63" and got a prize........!

Wishing you a very happy life with this new boy in your family!

Long Key 2

My 300mm lens is back to me from the repair! I immediately went to Long Key to see the birds in my long lens! It's been almost 2 weeks since the last visit, and the babies were grown big!
I thought these two are the same two as the last post, but I am not sure, the background trees are different? Are these the little sister and big brother - now the same size? Or the different two juvies?
This second visit to Long Key ended up Bad.....I locked my car key in my car and waited for the locksmith to arrive in the hot parking lot, and cost me $80......at least, the park office people were nice to help me, thanks a lot!

Long Key

Long Key Nature Center....I didn't know about this place until one of my BP friend told me, it's very close to Flamingo Gardens where I often go.......A small place with one lake with an island. On that island, there were one huge broken tree (maybe by the hurricane..) and bushes, and amazing number of bird's nests.....Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Tricolored Heron, Anhinga......
Kathy and I went there on 4/24, some families has their babies already grown like this photo,
but lots of Mothers were still sitting patiently on their Eggs. I have to check this place again in another week or so......on this day, I didn't have my 300mm lens, so I couldn't take good photos anyway....