This sculpture, Women’s Table, by Maya Lin, winner as a Yale senior, of the design competition for the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. depicts the growth in number of female Yale graduates over the years. Women now outnumber men at the school by a wide margin.

We stopped for a lunch break in downtown New Haven. I opted to visit the Yale campus instead of eating and was fortunate to catch up with a student led tour which was both informative and entertaining.

When we came down for breakfast this morning we learned that the entire tournament had been cancelled due to heavy rains which had rendered the fields off limits for play. Needless to say this was not a very well received message and we had no real option but to re-board the bus and head for home. Eddie, our very skilled and accommodating driver was at the ready and so began the second half of our 800 mile journey.

As has been the case since buses were invented, the adolescents commandeered the rear, and parents were relegated to the front. The bus featured a nice video system, and the boys selected Borat for the movie, after which video choices were made by the parents.

I took a vacation day to travel with Kyle and his soccer team by bus to Baltimore for a major soccer tournament with many of the best teams in the East. The trip took just over 8 hours and I put the time to good use finishing up on some work items and planning for my upcoming trip to Utah and Arizona.

My return flight from California arrived at about 7am and I slept in for a couple of hours. I then spent the entire day working from home on performance reviews with no time for any photography. This is an art shot from earlier in the week.

Not my best photo but I was determined to get a shot of this mother looking after her eggs.

Another 12-hour day in the office starting at 4am still leaves me with ample time to use back roads rather than the highway on my drive to LAX to catch the red-eye back to Boston. To my surprise I came across a bunch of ostriches running about in a field. Only in California! For the record they are not as friendly as you might think.

I enjoy another pretty sunset before turning in for the night.

I am not sure what this fellow is although I am reminded of an Ibis. He is focused on this tide pool and could care less about the volleyball action on the beach. Update: A blog follower has informed me this is a Whimbrel. The Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is the one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland.

This is a migratory species wintering on coasts in Africa, South America, south Asia into Australasia and southern North America. It is also a coastal bird during migration. It is fairly gregarious outside the breeding season.

Major discovery on the way back to my tent this evening. I found a beach with dozens of volleyball nets and some serious players in action. The caliber of play was quite high and I will have to tune up my game a little if I want to join play on a future trip.

I woke up at 4:20am this morning, left for the airport at 4:30am, boarded my flight at 6am, arrived in LA 6 hours later, drove 90 minutes to Santa Barbara, worked from noon till 5:30, made camp, did a little photography, and 17 hours after my day started I watched the sun dip into the Pacific ocean. I then dipped into my tent and slept like a log.

I believe this is a Snowy Egret and he is hunting for dinner about 10 feet from where my tent is pitched. In New England I drag 20 pounds worth of camera, telephoto lens, and tripod through the marshes for hours to get this close. In California I use my 8 ounce point and shoot camera after an exhausting 12 step expedition. No wonder the folks here are so laid back.

Once again I have decided to forgo the comforts of a hotel and will fall asleep listening to the waves crashing on the beach. I go to bed as soon as the sun sets and wake up refreshed at 3am local time. A quick drive has me to the office where I enjoy a hot shower and several hours of uninterrupted work time.

 
On the drive from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara I spotted an entire hillside covered in cactus and could not resist making a quick stop for a photo.

In two weeks I will be hiking through red canyon country instead of flying over it. As luck would have it my flight to Los Angeles this morning flew directly over the portion of southern Utah and northern Arizona where I will be taking a solo photography camping adventure. Click on the photo for a better view of the insanely beautiful landscape.

I found myself with 6 hours of total solitude this afternoon and was able to complete our federal and state tax filings in one sitting. It was an unusually complex tax year with the job change and a lot of stock and options transactions but the latest software really makes the whole thing pretty straight forward. Jeanine and Maya drove with Kyle today to NH for the remaining two matches of the Seacoast Soccer Tournament. Kyle’s team won both matches while Maya sold Girl Scout cookies to the half frozen spectators. Nico joined me at CCHS where I had a soccer scrimmage against Lexington early this morning. It was a good workout and we came away with a 1-1 tie. Unfortunately I injured my left thumb rather badly during a collision with another player. I leave for Santa Barbara at 4:30am tomorrow and may not post again until I return on Thursday.

 
Kyle and Chloe enjoy the spring like afternoon honing their archery skills. Earlier in the day I drove with Kyle up to New Hampshire for the first round of the Seacoast Soccer tournament. From my perspective, Kyle’s was the stronger team but a single defensive lapse led to the deciding goal of the game. We stopped in Newburyport on the way back hoping to see some eagles but had to settle for a nice lunch in town.

Frequent visitors to this blog realize that the arrival of spring is generally accompanied by an increased number of bird photo postings. This evening after work I captured the extremely elusive One-legged Fearless Nutjob perched high in one of our evergreens. This flightless species is quite rare because the male birds frequently fall to their deaths from high nests before having a chance to mate. It will take a skilled eye to spot this black feathered, white faced bird against the dark pine needles. Click on the photo if you need a magnified view.

The weather was nice today so I decided to go for a walk on my lunch hour. The Boston Museum of Science is less than a 15 minute stroll from my office and I really should make a point of checking out some of the new exhibits. Click on the photo for a more detailed view.

I was very busy with work today and had no time for a photo. In light of yesterday’s post I went to the archive for a look back at Nala as a puppy.

Nala poses inside the exercise pen she used as a puppy. It is another one of the items going to Craig’s List. She seemed a little annoyed to find herself once again caged after having graduated to a free run of the yard.

We took advantage of gorgeous weather and had a family work session this afternoon. We emptied the entire contents of the garage, cleaned it thoroughly, and placed everything back in an organized way. Any item with no future in our family makes its way to Craig’s List. The weld holding the front wheel of Nico’s electric scooter to the platform and rear wheels gave out and is beyond repair (not a phrase that comes easily to my lips). I placed it under the Free Items category and in less than ten minutes had as many offers for a new home. This scooter served Nico well and will be missed.

 
After a haircut and another clothing change she is ready for a special night out with her dad. The evening begins with dinner at the Hana Mizuki Japanese Steak House (Benni Hana style table side chef) in the company of her friends Lydia and Claire and their fathers. Then we attended the annual father-daughter Shamrock Ball. Maya looked very grown up this evening in her new gown and her father could not have enjoyed himself more dancing with his not so little girl.

 
After a quick shower and change of clothes she is off to a piano recital in which she preformed brilliantly.

A big day for Maya. First, she helps her team to a 4-2 indoor soccer victory.

Maya invited her friend Lydia and was the winner of one of the Bingo rounds.

 
Kyle and other members of the youth group helped by entertaining the predominantly younger audience. After each round of Bingo the band would play some rock and roll music and Kyle would reward dancers with candy treats.

 
Jeanine will be among the adult chaperones on the trip and was one of the lead organizers of the event this year.

Long awaited Rock & Roll Bingo night has arrived. Funds raised this evening will support our youth group on their travel adventure to Transylvania to meet with members of our sister church there.

Maya created this board game for a school project. I was enlisted to beta test it with her. Not shown in the photo are the cards that are placed over the Too Late and Close Call outlines. It was really a lot of fun and reminded a lot of Chutes & Ladders.