The quantity of zebras we saw was amazing. At one point our driver looked around the area that we were in and estimated that we were looking at 10,000 of them. They typically come at the end of the wildebeest migration and it's not unusual to see thousands at a time as one looks out over the Serengeti plain. Western Serengeti, Tanzania. 29 May 2011.

This lovely shot in the Serengeti was actually taken by our driver, Damas. He would occasionally pick up my Canon G11 point-and-shoot and do just that: point, and shoot. This was early one morning while we were waiting for a hippo to do something interesting. Central Serengeti, Tanzania. 21 May 2011.

So here I am, back from the not-quite-land-of-the-dead. It was one year ago today that I broke my back (fractured and compressed my L1 vertebra) and I'm celebrating by posting something for the first time in over a year. It's not that my recovery has taken this long (tho it certainly continues, but at a much less dramatic pace), it's that I've had lots of big changes in my life in the last year, in addition to the whole broken back thing. The good news about my back is that there was no spinal cord damage, so I was able to walk within a few days. The hard news was how long it would take to get the pain to a "manageable" (what's that?!) level. But all things being equal I'm the luckiest person in the world, I have a fabulous new job, and I can still wield a camera. And travel. Which is why you are going to see a lot of pix from the Serengeti, where I spent a bunch of time in May.
I've only had two broken bones in my adult life, and both of them occurred outside of the U.S. So there's a bit of irony in this post. My other broken bone (femur) occurred while being chased by a lion in South Africa in 1998. Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. 23 May 2011.

One last photo in the Katie's Garden series. It was truly a delight to experience the Sherrod/Pool hospitality-- I'm trying to figure out when I might get back to spend some more time in the garden! Fort Worth, Texas. 6 August 2010.

I didn't get anywhere near as much time to photograph the butterflies (and colorful moths) as I'd have liked. Fort Worth Texas. 7 August 2010.

Katie's garden is filled with all sorts of magic and surprises. Here is a guardian angel who looks after animals. Fort Worth, Texas. 7 August 2010.

These lovely plants were interspersed in the ground cover by the path to the guesthouse. I love the way they caught the early morning light. Fort Worth Texas. 7 August 2010.

More from Katie's garden. Fort Worth, Texas. 6 August 2010.

I'm in Fort Worth for a meeting and able to take advantage of our breaks to visit my friend Katie's garden. With the rain that they had in July the garden is particularly stunning. 6 August 2010. Fort Worth, Texas.

I know, I know-- not exactly a DSLR-quality photo. A little difficult even to make out what it is, perhaps, too....
For reasons of which I am not sure, I happened to go out to breakfast three days in a row last week. On Thursday I went to Fat Nat's, in New Hope. On Friday it was 3 Squares in Maple Grove, and on Saturday it was Al's Breakfast in Dinkytown. Fat Nat's got the greasy spoon award (not terribly inspired food, but not expensive, either), 3 Squares got the overall-quality award (we shared steak and eggs and blueberry french toast-- both were excellent), and Al's Breakfast (pictured here) got the atmosphere award. Why the area of Minneapolis it is in is called 'Dinkytown', I have no idea (perhaps it will be revealed to me after I live here for more than 3 moths). The place is 10 feet wide, and has a long counter with 14 very traditional lunch-counter-type bar stools that are bolted to the floor. You eat with someone standing behind you, waiting, it seems, for you to leave. But no one appears to really rush because there is lots of atmosphere to absorb while you wait, and the food is really good (and inexpensive) once you do get seated. 31 July 2010. Minneapolis, MN.

This past weekend was "Maple Grove Days." We mostly missed it because of a church camping trip, but did catch the opening parade and the fireworks. We lucked out with the firworks-- they were supposed to be Saturday night (while we were camping) but two tornado warnings meant they got postponed. The tornado warnings were not too much fun when camping with a lot of young children. We spent 30 minutes on two occasions huddled in the bathrooms (actually, on the floor of a shower stall) with young children on our lap (who were wet, cold and scared).
We had a great viewing spot for the fireworks-- about 100 feet from our front door. Maple Grove, Minnesota. 18 July 2010.

The last image from the south-east of Minnesota. We returned to the cities by way of the Mississippi river, stopping in Winona at an overlook. We look forward to coming back here in the late winter when the Bald eagles are apparently quite a sight (we did see one in Lanesboro, but couldn't stop to get a photo). 9 July 2010. Winona, Minnesota.

Last Friday's trip really was a marathon-- 400 miles in 12 hours. And it was lovely. Among other things (Warren will be happy to note) we saw this endless wind farm, happily co-existing with miles and miles of corn farms (kind of like the camels and the cattle, except bigger). East of Austin, Minnesota. 9 July 2010.

After leaving the Spam Museum last Friday we headed east, but soon stopped to view a rather interesting site-- camels and cattle, apparently being raised together. At first we thought they were llamas (tho not in pajamas), but finally decided they were, indeed, camels. What do you think? (Double click to enlarge.) East of Austin, Minnesota. 9 July 2010.

We purchased a tiny can of "Spam Spread" (since neither one of us could remember the last time we had eaten Spam) at the gift shop, and then stopped at a grocery story to buy genuine Ritz crackers to put it on. Becky couldn't get over the idea that she was eating cat food, so was only good for a ceremonial (and symbolic) tasting. I decorated mine with bits of Cheetos. The baby spoon was purchased for a little one-year-old friend of ours (with matching plate). We figure he should be introduced to the finer things in life from an early age. Austin, Minnesota. 9 July 2010.

I was serious when I said the other day that we didn't have enough time here. We easily could have spent two hours, and although intentionally a little kitschy, it's a very well designed, interactive museum. At the end of the self-guided tour through the museum (just before you end up in the gift shop, where you can buy, um, Spam fly swatters, and other fun things) is the Spam Game Show.

Test your knowledge of Spam trivia:
A. What year was Spam first produced?
B. What is Spam made of?
C. Who was the largest purchaser of Spam during WWII?
D. What other countries produce Spam?
E. How much Spam is consumed in the United States every second?

A. & B. Spam is a registered trademark name for a canned ground pork shoulder and ham product introduced by the Hormel Company in 1937.
C. During WW II, Hormel sold more than half of its output to the U.S. government, which supplied SPAM to the armed forces of the U.S., and also to the U.S.S.R. under the lend-lease program.
D. In addition to the U.S., spam is produced in 7 other countries: Australia, Denmark, UK, Japan, Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan. Spam is distributed in more than 50 countries.
E. In the United States alone, 3.6 cans of Spam are consumed every second.

More Spam trivia:
The 1 billionth can of spam was sold in 1959.
The 6 billionth can was produced in 2002.
West Yellowstone sponsors the 'Spam Cup' cross country ski race, with the winner receiving a can of Spam.
The SPAMJAM Cafe opened in February 2004 in the Philippines. Except for hot dogs, French fries and desserts, all other menu items are made with Spam, including Spam Burger, Spam Hero, Spam Club, Spam Spaghetti, Spam Baked Macaroni, Spam Nuggets and Spam Caesar Salad.

OK, so I wasn't even born when these ad's ran, but I swear I was served Spam Boats as a kid. Were they the pre-cursor to spam bots? Austin, Minnesota. 9 July 2010.

Who knew just how much the Spam can has changed over the years! (Some might ask, "And who cares?") Raise your hand if you remember the key that came on the top of the can. Austin, Minnesota. 9 July 2010.

First stop was the George A. Hormel Theater, where we watched 5 minutes of the 15 minute video about the history of Spam and Hormel. Part of the reason that we were here at all was because I mentioned Spam (in a positive way!) in a sermon several weeks ago. I heard so many interesting Spam stories after church that I had to learn more. Austin, Minnesota. 9 July 2010.

Yesterday we took a marathon tour of the southeast corner of Minnesota, starting with the Spam Museum. We didn't get as early a start to the day as we had hoped, so only had 45 minutes here. Part kitsch, part homage to the Hormel company, it began with reserved spots in the parking lot for museum go-ers. Austin, Minnesota. 9 July 2010.

Don't these look like purple Christmas trees? It reminds me of the year that we were given a Christmas tree by a co-worker who knew we couldn't afford one. In California they spray fake snow on trees to make them look, well, um, more Christmasy, I guess. It's called 'flocking' and it come in all sorts of colors. When the co-worker presented us with a cute little tree, all covered in white fake snow, he very proudly said, "I hope I chose the right color flocking!" We were deelighted by his thoughtfulness, but never came to appreciate the flocking phenomenon. Maple Grove, Minnesota. 2 July 2010.

Tired of the Great Egret photos yet? I'm feeling quite lucky to have one in my backyard, so I'm sure there will be more than a few! Maple Grove, Minnesota. 3 July 2010.

From Saturday's morning walk. As I watch this Great Egret from day to day I'm learning more about her habits. Maple Grove, Minnesota. 3 July 2010.

From a sunset walk to the new band stand in Maple Grove. The American flag and the Minnesota flag were flying over the Cub market. Maple Grove, Minnesota. 1 July 2010.

OK-- no bugs or creepy crawly things in this photo, you'll be glad to know! I had an early morning walk today and loved seeing these _______ (purple flowers) by one of the lakes behind our home. Still haven't bought the "Wildflowers of Minnesota" book yet. Maple Grove, Minnesota. 3 July 2010.

Pretty cool, huh? A caterpillar with antennae on both ends! Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, Zimmerman, Minnesota. 19 June 2010.

See what I mean about the beetles? They were pretty amazing. The flower is a Butterflyweed. Don't have any clue what kind of beetle it is (except I'm pretty sure it's not Ringo). Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, Zimmerman, Minnesota. 19 June 2010.

Prairie Rose. There seemed to be an abundance of beetles on just about all of the flowers we saw (if you click on yesterday's photo to enlarge it, you'll see a few there). Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, Zimmerman, Minnesota. 19 June 2010.

A trip to Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge to see Bald Eagles didn't result in any bald eagle sightings (did see a nest, though), but did result in lots more lovely wildflowers and a bunch more birds. I think I've decided to invest in a "Minnesota Wildflowers" book so that I can I.D. some of these. Zimmerman, Minnesota. 19 June 2010.

Trumpeter Swan #1: Beautiful sunset, isn't it dear?
Trumpeter Swan #2: Mmmghggmm.
Maple Grove, Minnesota. 16 June 2010.