Friday, April 27, 2007

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My

Best Lion Vs Hyena Music Video You'll See Today


Tiger Attack #1


Tiger Attack #2 (pops a new window)

And Finally, Bear Attack

Top View


P1010648, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

I managed to fix my brakes and get back to kayaking yesterday. That makes 4 out of 5 days on the water since Sunday. Strong winds blew from time to time out of the Southwest. Clouds were building but it never rained. Today's weather might not be as friendly, but I think I'm going to try to squeeze about six miles in after work. This photo is from the top of a rock outcrop. It's a great place to stretch your legs and take in the scenery. You can see a view of where I'm sitting here.

Perch


P1010649, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Thursday Morning


Thursday Morning, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

I'm stuck at home this morning thanks to my brakes on the Jeep and their inability to stop the damn thing. I discovered this about half way home from work yesterday. I was able to limp home with the emergency brake. One of the calipers is leaking fluid. Hopefully I'll have that fixed later today. I snapped the photo this morning when I let Maggie out. Maybe I'll work outside today...

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Hanging With Mike Dillon's GoGo Jungle

Loading Animated Fetch
I managed to get about 4 miles of paddling in after work and still make it back to Raleigh to see Mike Dillon's GoGo Jungle. They played a great show in spite of Raleigh's lack of the know.

So you know... Mike Dillon (on the right) is also a member of the Seattle-based Critters Buggin and has performed with many musicians, most notably Les Claypool's Frog Brigade and Fancy Band, Hairy Apes BMX, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Stanton Moore, Garage A Trois, Malachy Papers, Ani DiFranco, Marco Benevento, Reed Mathis and New Orlean's musicians Kevin O'Day, Johnny Vidacovich and James Singleton. Dillon also performed in the late 80's/early 90's with local Dallas and Denton favorites Ten Hands and in the mid-90's with Dallas/Kansas City-based Billy Goat. Link to more photos

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Day Three


Haw River Kayaking, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

I've been lucky enough to paddle on the water for three days in a row. Yesterday was an experiment in how much time I could spend on the water after work. I paddled four miles in about an hour and still had a good 30 minutes of daylight left. It definitely beats the same time on the couch, and certainly beats any time in a gym or on a treadmill. I'm going to try to spend some time on the water every day. Call it my Monday resolution.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Fishing Machine


Fishing Machine, originally uploaded by michael rupert.




The weather was really nice this weekend. I traded in my couch for the kayak Saturday and Sunday. I brought the flyrod along, but I didn't do much fishing. Our weather here is supposed to be the same all week, so hopefully I can squeeze in a coulple hours of paddling after work every day this week.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Wet Dog Windy Fetch



One last porch moment from weird weather Sunday. Some days it's good to just relax on my porch and take in the scenery. The yard was soaked from lots of rain. Maggie was kicking up a nice mud rooster tail as she chased the ball.

Sunday Storms


Sunday Storms, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

This photo was taken the same day as the clouds and the panorama. At one point we were under a thunderstorm warning, flash flood warning, tornado watch, and a wind advisory. At times it seemed nice enough to go paddle on the lake, but things changed quickly. About an hour after this photo, the temperature dropped 12 degrees and the wind started howling.

When Pelicans Attack

Dogs Sick of Dumbass Redneck Owners

Update IV: They came back. They were at my house the next day, eating my garbage. This time my neighbors put them on my porch (thinking they were mine). It took three days before their owners showed up. "This time I'm gonna keep'em in the pee'in for a long time." That was Saturday. This morning the lab puppy showed up as I was leaving for work. I called again, angry, and told them that if they were there when I got home I was going to call animal control.

Update III: This is getting ridonkulous. I don't think they ever went home, and now I have trash spread over half of the yard. The 'owners' never called me back. I chased them off in the direction of their actual home. If it happens again, I am going to treat them as if they were dropoffs. Toothless Cleatus obviously doesn't care.

Update II: Driving home yesterday, I passed the same two dogs (Cooter and Buddy (LOL)) in the yard next door. They ran to my Jeep as I pulled into my driveway. Apparently these people haven't fixed their "pee'in" so they escaped "agee'in" and showed up at my house. No one answered or returned my call. I don't know where the dogs are now.

Update: The owners finally called animal control and are picking them up tonight. Maybe they will learn a lesson.


The Duo Romp, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

So these guys showed up in my yard while I was playing ball with my dog. The lab is a puppy, not quite a year old. The shepherd mix is young, but adult. Neither of them are neutered, and no one has come by looking for them (for 7 hours now). I have spent the day in the front yard with them hoping their owners would drive by and spot them.

Tomorrow I am calling the shelter to see if their owners are looking for them. They could be dropoffs. I'm in a rural area. I'm keeping the lab if I can't get them back to their owners. They're both very nice dogs. Shame on their masters. More photos

Sunday, April 15, 2007

What do you see?


What do you see?, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

No, not the vulture - look at the cloud...

Porchorama


Porchorama, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

A bad panorama of my front porch earlier today.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Who's the Boss


Who's the Boss, originally uploaded by copeg.

I did not photograph this moment. It's just too freaking cool not to share. I love nature photos. Be sure to check out the photographer's site: www.naturefocused.com.

While you're at it, check out my friend's nature photo site: wildnaturephoto.com.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Tuesday After Work Animated

Loading Animated Fetch

Loading Animated Fetch
I shot 12 photos (two sets of 6) in continuous mode with my Panasonic DMC-FX01. Then used Gimp to put them together as animated images (each one uses 6 photos). The same could be done with Photoshop.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Tuesday After Work


Tuesday After Work, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

Dew Grass


Dew Grass, originally uploaded by michael rupert.