Mother's Day Photo Book

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I had promised Jan a photo book of our trip to Big Bend last May, and had every intention of getting it to her by Mother's Day. She had seen a friend's photo book made by Shutterfly, and she thought it would be great to save our memories of that trip in book form. But my work and travel schedule prevented me from getting it done by that day. But it is done and on the way to her now.

I hope you enjoy the slideshow of the Big Bend Photo Book. I enjoyed putting it together. I can't wait to see how it turned out.

Our next project will be the Washington DC trip, so look for that slideshow soon.

Till next time,

Mike Z

Jefferson Memorial

On the 3rd day of our sightseeing tour, we hiked from the hotel to the Jefferson Memorial. I knew it would be a long way, but didn't anticipate just how long a walk it would be. The walk itself was very nice, lots of animals and scenes along the way.

We walked through the cherry trees, a gift long ago from the Japanese government, but we missed the bloom by more than a month. We did see one tree in bloom, but could not be certain it was a cherry tree.



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 The statue of Thomas Jefferson, in the center of the memorial, is very impressive. I guess I never realized from photos I had seen just how big it is. On the walls surrounding the statue are some of Jefferson's writings, which I found very sobering and moving.

I hope you will get to see these places in Washington DC, if you haven't already. I truly believe that every person should see as many of the beautiful sights of our nation's capital as possible.

Till next time,
Mike Z

The World War II Memorial in Washington DC

Jan and I were privileged to go to Washington DC recently (me for work, Jan for a much needed vacation), and we toured the various monuments and memorials around the White House and the Capitol.

My dad had served in the Navy during World War II, and I was especially anxious to see and photograph the WWII Memorial while we were there.

The memorial was spectacular, and I tried several series of photos to make a panorama of it. This one was the best attempt. You can see the Lincoln Memorial in the center distance.

I hope you like this. There are more photos, which I'll be sharing soon, but I am very proud of this one, so it comes first.

More later,

Mike Z

Cat Stuck in the Tree



Jan was washing the car this afternoon, and I was raking leaves. We kept hearing a very sad cat crying, but neither of us could locate it. I was looking in the bushes beside our house when Jan said, "Look! It's stuck in the tree!"

Sure enough, there was the cat in the very tallest branches of the oak tree.

We called her and called her, and she tried to get down, but just couldn't work up the courage.

As I write this, it is about midnight. I checked on her just a few minutes ago and she is still up there. I hope she gets hungry enough to overcome her fear, because it is pretty chilly out there tonight.

Monday Morning: Well, I couldn't stand it. Woke up early and put on a robe (it's nippy out today!) and rushed out to see if the tree-climbing kitty was still up there. Good news! Her hunger and cold overcame her fear of climbing down and she was no longer there. I hope she doesn't try that again!

All the best to you (and the cat),

Mike Z